Bye Bye Birdie
by jemb
Summary: Lost cat and rain. Need I say more


BYE BYE BIRDIE

Agent Seely Booth strides through the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal lab with a smile on his face and a new case file in his hand. He waves a greeting to Angela as he passes her and makes his way straight to Temperance Brennan's office. When he walks in she is the phone and by the sounds of the conversation it's something serious.

"Okay, so you'll let me know if you hear anything?" Brennan asks. Booth notices she looks a little distraught. "Thank you, I appreciate your help." She finishes and hangs up.

"Hey Bones." Booth greets her with a smile. She returns the greeting with a roll of her eyes and a look that says 'What the hell do you want now?'

"A new case landed on my desk this morning." He sits down in the chair opposite her desk and passes the file to her.

"I don't really have time for this." She says knowing fine well it won't make any difference. _I always end up helping him anyway_.

"You say that every time I come in here." Booth comments. "This is a very interesting case. Bodies found in a graveyard that don't belong in the graveyard." When Brennan looks at him she sees that glint in his eye and she relents.

"Fine." She sighs and closes the file. "Let's go." Standing up she grabs her jacket and her bag and psyches herself up for another FBI case.

As Booth and Brennan drive out to the cemetery, Booth can't help but notice how despondent Brennan is.

"Bones, are you okay?" he asks suddenly. She snaps her head around, surprised by his question.

"I'm fine." She replies.

"It's just, well you seem a little distracted." Booth tells her.

"I'm fine." She repeats. _Like saying it over and over makes it true. I'm not fine_.

"Okay." Booth doesn't want to push it. He knows by now if Brennan wants to talk to him she will and if she doesn't, well she won't.

"My cat is missing." Brennan says out of the blue.

"You have a cat?" Booth is surprised.

"Birdie." Brennan tells him.

"Don't worry Bones. Cats are independent creatures." Booth says.

"Birdie never leaves the yard." Brennan sighs and stares out the window. Booth glances over. He's never been a cat person and he doesn't get why she's so upset. Cats are wanderers.

"Hey, there's the cemetery." Booth quickly changes the subject as he pulls into the entrance. The police are there to escort them to the site where the bodies were found.

Three hours later Brennan has completed her site analysis and arranged for the bodies to be transported back to the Jeffersonian.

"Can you drop me at Arty's Print Shop?" Brennan asks.

"What for?" Booth asks.

"I need to collect some posters." She says.

"For your cat?" Booth asks with a surprise in his voice Brennan doesn't expect.

"Yes for my cat." She states.

"It's just a cat Bones." Booth shakes his head.

"Just a cat!" she exclaims. "You know what; I'll just get myself there." Brennan says angrily before she turns on her heels and stalks away from Booth. Booth groans and jogs after her. He grabs her arm to stop her.

"Bones, I'm sorry." He says. "I didn't mean to sound…"

"Insensitive." Brennan finishes for him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I am." He repeats. "I'll take you to Arty's."

"Thank you." Booth releases her arm so she can walk back to the SUV with him.

When Brennan gets home from the lab in the early evening she grabs a quick bite to eat then heads out to start putting up the posters of Birdie in the hope that a neighbour or passer by might have seen him. She has gone six blocks when her cell rings.

"Brennan." She answers.

"Hey, it's me." She recognises the voice as Booth's. _Hard not to._ "Are you at home?" he asks.

"No."

"I went by the lab, you weren't there." _She's always there_

"I'm a few blocks away from my house." Brennan explains. "What do you want anyway?"

"Oh right. Uh, I got a lead on the case, thought you might want in." Booth says.

"I guess." Brennan sees she only has a small number of posters left anyway.

"Okay, I'll pick you up in twenty." He says. Brennan gives him the name of a street on the next block. She can finish putting up the posters before he arrives. As she fixes another poster to a lamp post she stares at the picture of Birdie. _Where are you?_ She asks. _I miss you_.

The next day Brennan is hard at work on Booth's new case but she can't get her mind off her missing cat. She's had Birdie for a long time and the dumb cat means everything to her. She feels like part of her is missing without him around. He's always there to give her affection after a long and tiring day. _Please come home Birdie_. As she tries to re-focus on the work in front of her another distraction arrives in the form of Booth.

"Hey Bones." He greets her. "Got anything for me?" he asks.

"Not yet." She keeps her head down. Booth watches her for a moment.

"You still down about your cat?" he asks. Brennan lifts her head and meets his eyes. When those blue eyes lock with his he sees a sadness he hasn't seen before. _She looks like she's lost a loved one_ he thinks.

"I'll have the test results in a few hours but identification could take some time." She says.

"Okay, well whenever you're done I guess." _He's being very understanding and not pushy at all _Brennan realises. Normally Booth would be anxious for information.

For the first time that Brennan can remember, she has chosen her life over her work. Unable to concentrate she abandoned her work at the lab and headed home so she could go out looking for Birdie. Now, walking the streets around her home she calls out to him. _Maybe he's just lost. Maybe he's hurt?_ She runs thousands of scenarios through her head like being hit by a car or a kid on a bike.

"Birdie!" she calls. "Birdie!" She is out for several hours but there is no sign of him. _Maybe he's gone?_ She feels a kick in the pit of her stomach. _I can't loose Birdie._ But as the heavens open and cold rain begins to fall Brennan realises she isn't going to get much further. She calls it a night and jogs back to her house feeling disappointed.

After drying her hair and changing into dry clothes Brennan settles down on the couch with some camomile tea and a book. _Birdie would usually be sitting on my lap_ she can't help but think. Half way through the book the doorbell rings, startling Brennan. She slips a bookmark at her page and rises to answer the door. When she pulls it open she sees a squirming wet cat and her eyes widen and sparkle with delight.

"Birdie!" she exclaims.

"I think this belongs to you." Brennan's eyes travel up to the person holding the cat and her eyes widen further when she sees a very wet looking Booth. He holds out Birdie and Brennan gratefully takes the large cat in her arms and hugs him close.

"Uh Bones, it's kinda wet out here." Booth says.

"Sorry, come in." she stands aside and lets Booth inside. "Booth, how did you find him?" Brennan asks as she places Birdie down on the kitchen counter.

"Long story." Booth replies. All Brennan's attention is on Birdie as she uses a towel to dry the cat off.

"You know, I could use one of those too." Booth says. Brennan looks at him and notices the rain dripping off his hair onto his face. His jacket and T-shirt are also soaked through.

"Right." Brennan is flustered at both the return of Birdie and that Booth was the one to return him. She leaves Birdie on the counter and disappears to her bedroom. Booth stands awkwardly with Birdie while she's gone.

"Look's like Bones is happy again." He says to the cat. "Don't you ever do that to her again." He scolds playfully, as if the cat actually understands. He spins around when Brennan returns.

"Here." She passes him a towel. "You're jacket and shirt are soaked, I can dry them for you." She then hands Booth a large T-shirt. "Come on Birdie, it's the blow dryer for you." Brennan scoops Birdie into her arms and heads back to her bedroom leaving Booth alone.

Brennan remembers she needs the towel she had been using on Birdie and it's still in the kitchen. She hurries back to fetch it but stops dead in her tracks when she sees Booth. He has taken off his jacket and is currently removing his T-Shirt. His back is to her and she can only stare as his muscles flex with the movement. _Turn around, turn around, turn around_ she thinks. At that moment, a shirtless Booth does turn around.

"Bones, this T-Shirt looks very familiar." He holds up the T-Shirt she gave him and grins cheekily; fully aware of what his naked torso is doing to her. The look on her face says it all. _I can't speak. Why are my words not coming out?_ Brennan stands like a statue until something kicks in.

"Uh yeah, it's the shirt you gave me at that scene in the woods a few months ago." She reminds him of a time she had been soaked at a scene and he lent her the shirt until she got back home to change. Brennan crosses the room and picks up the towel lying on the counter. "I left this." She says. She finds it very hard to drag her eyes from Booth's chest and she knows he's noticed. With her standing just a couple of feet away, Booth pulls on the dry T-Shirt, again muscles flexing and teasing Brennan.

"You'd better go dry that cat of yours."

"Yes, right, the cat." Brennan turns on her heels and hurries back to the bedroom. _What the hell just happened?_ She asks herself. _Since when does Booth leave me speechless_?

Fifteen minutes later Brennan carries a happy and dry Birdie back through. Booth is hanging about the kitchen. Birdie leaps from Brennan's arms onto the counter and pads about.

"So where did you find him?" Brennan asks. Booth leans against the counter and folds his arms.

"A few blocks away under some bushes." Booth tells her. "Poor thing was shivering and meowing." _When did I go all soft for cats?_ He wonders.

"Thank you." Brennan says sincerely as she walks over to him. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost him for good." Booth turns to the side so he and Brennan are facing each other.

"What made you go out looking though? I got the impression you don't like cats." Brennan lets a smile tug at her lips. Booth stands up straight and takes a step closer to her.

"It was important to you." He says softly. "Which means it's important to me." _I'd do anything to make you happy_. He lifts his hand and tucks a lock of hair behind her left ear. Brennan dips her head slightly, very nervous about how close Booth is. He leans forward, bringing his head closer to hers. She locks eyes with him as his lips hover millimetres from hers. Just as Booth is about to kiss her, Birdie meows and leaps off the counter passing between Booth and Brennan, forcing them to split apart.

Shocked at what he almost did, Booth pulls right back. _Was I about to kiss her?_ He wonders._ I wanted to_. Brennan practically runs to the other room, chasing Birdie. _Was he going to kiss me?_ She wonders. _Do I want him to kiss me?_ She then asks. The resounding answer is a _Yes! Yes! Yes!_ But the moment has been spoiled by Birdie. Brennan is about to curse the cat when she remembers how bad she felt when she thought she had lost him. Instead, she picks Birdie up off the floor and carries him through to her bedroom. She closes the door, keeping him inside, and returns to the kitchen and Booth's side. _He looks embarrassed_ she notices. _Maybe he didn't mean for that to happen_ she worries.

"That cat has really bad timing." Booth smiles at Brennan.

"Uh huh." Brennan nods numbly. Booth steps towards her again.

"Maybe I could try that again." He whispers. With one hand cupping her face he brings his lips back towards hers. This time there is no cat to jump between them. Brennan closes her eyes as Booth's soft lips brush hers and send shivers down her spine. As he pulls back and removes his hand from her face Brennan feels a cool rush of air between them. She immediately wants him back where he was. When her eyes open has a goofy grin on his face.

"I never thought you'd let me do that." He says softly. Brennan cocks her head to the side.

"You did something special for me." She says. "That deserves a special thank you."

"Well that was definitely…special." Booth looks down for a moment then finds her eyes. Brennan looks at him, wondering what is running through his mind. All she can think about is getting Booth's lips back on hers.

"You know Booth, there are a lot of things you do for me that I never thank you for." She grins. "Maybe I should start making up for that." Booth accepts the invitation. He gathers Brennan in his arms and capturing her lips with his, kissing her like she's never been kissed before.


End file.
